Throw Down Your Love
by arthurpendragonz
Summary: Hermione did the only thing she could think of as the wall came crashing down towards Fred, she used her body as a shield and prayed with everything she had that the man she loved would still be alive after it was over, even if it meant she wouldn't be...


**a/n: Just a little alternative scene from DH where Fred doesn't die (because he. didn't. die.) and instead Hermione manages to save him and hidden feelings come to light…enjoy! :)**

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 _"And I've just let these little things slip out of my mouth, 'cause it's you, oh it's you, it's you they add up to, I'm in love with you…"_

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"Fred!" Hermione screamed as she barrelled towards him, throwing herself at him and knocking him backwards. She vaguely registered Harry and Ron try to move away from the explosion and she saw Percy push George back as they both scrambled for cover.

She'd seen the wall starting to collapse as she'd turned back around, her breath had caught and she didn't even think as she'd immediately started towards him as fast as she could.

The only thing she could hear was her heart beating furiously as she silently prayed that she'd get to him in time. _Not him. Not Fred._ She refused to lose him.

She wasn't even aware she'd screamed his name as she cast a quick non verbal shield charm and pushed him as hard as she could away from the falling debris.

She felt pressure everywhere as she fought to keep the shield in place, her body pinned between the wall and Fred as she struggled for breath and waited to be crushed.

She could feel Fred holding her tightly and trying to turn her away from the worst of the blast. She stubbornly refused to allow him to move her and she heard him swear violently as another piece of wall got past her spell and hit her hard on the side of the head.

She began to feel dizzy as the pressure increased and her head started to pound painfully.

It took her a few seconds to realize Fred was calling her name and becoming more and more frantic at her lack of reply.

Hermione realized the wall had stopped falling but she knew that they were both pinned and she began to feel a sharp pain in her legs and back as the adrenaline slowly wore off.

"Hermione! Hermione! Are you okay?! Hermione, please!" Fred was running his hands over every part of her he could reach. She was draped almost fully on top of him and had caught the worst of the falling pieces.

She coughed loudly as the dust irritated her throat and felt Fred let out a sigh of relief as she finally responded.

"Oh thank Merlin! I thought you were dead." Hermione heard his voice catch and could almost swear he was about to start crying. She felt him hug her as best he could and she let out a small scream as he attempted to shift them out from underneath the remains of the wall.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! Where are you hurt?" He asked, worried he'd underestimated how much damage had been done.

"It's my legs and my back. My head hurts too but that's probably a concussion or from using too much energy to keep the shield up." She replied, coughing again as she managed to tilt her head slightly upwards to look at him.

"We need to get out from under here. It's still unstable and we have to get you help." He looked down at her worriedly, desperately trying to think of a way to shift the rubble without bringing anymore down on them.

He almost cried with relief when he heard the voices of George, Percy, Ron and Harry as they made their way over to them to help.

"We need to get Hermione out of here now." Fred shouted to them. He kept looking at Hermione as they got nearer. "It's gonna be okay. You're safe."

Hermione laughed slightly, groaning as the pain increased.

"We're being slowly crushed to death, sure, it'll be fine." She deadpanned.

Fred's lips twitched slightly before he chuckled. "I don't know whether to be concerned even more over how hard you hit your head or grateful that you're well enough to joke at a time like this. Considering I don't think I've ever heard you make a joke I'm thinking we should get your head checked out immediately."

"Ha ha. I'd hit you but I can't move my arms right now." She dropped her head back to his chest, feeling tired. She just needed to close her eyes for a second.

"Hit me when we get out of here. Hey, Hermione, no. Don't fall asleep. Hermione!" He shook her slightly careful not to hurt her anymore. "You have to stay awake."

"I'm so tired. It hurts." Fred felt her begin to relax over him and panicked.

"Hermione please! Just a few more minutes. You have to." He tilted her face up towards him and placed his hands on her cheeks. "Hermione, look at me. Open your eyes."

It took her a few seconds to fight her eyes into complying and when she did she gasped softly at the tears in Fred's eyes.

"Are you hurt? I didn't even ask!" She winced, trying to do she didn't even know what in order to help him.

"I'm fine. Just stay awake okay?" He stared hard into her eyes, begging her to keep her eyes open and on him.

She nodded as best she could, keeping her eyes locked on him as she felt one of his thumbs make small soothing circles on the right side of her cheek.

Suddenly, Hermione felt the pressure on her back and legs disappear and the rubble shift away from them completely. She felt better for all of a second before the pain rushed back, overwhelming her and pulling her into darkness.

She heard Fred shout her name frantically then everything went quiet as she slipped away from consciousness.

* * *

The first thing she heard was the beeping of what she assumed was some sort of heart monitor. She could feel a soft bed under her and warm sheets tucked around her. She was relieved to realize she couldn't feel any of the pain from earlier. She felt sore, as if she'd been trampled by a herd of elephants but she could deal with this.

She tried to lift one of her hands to rub at her eyes but stopped when she realized someone was gripping tightly onto it. Hermione opened her eyes slowly and turned her head towards whoever was sat next to her bed. She smiled when she realized it was Fred, it turned into elation when she realized he was okay.

She gasped loudly a few seconds later when she remembered they were in the middle of a battle though. What had happened? Was anyone else hurt? Why was she in hospital when she should be out fighting? What if they were coming for them?

Her gasp must have woken Fred because he shot up suddenly and leaned over her worriedly.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're okay. Everyone's fine. You need to stay relaxed." He whispered reassuringly to her, squeezing her hand lightly and stroking back her hair.

"What happened?" She managed to croak.

"We won." Fred grinned brilliantly, happiness dancing across every inch of his face.

It was infectious and Hermione found herself grinning back at him, joy flooding her for the first time in years as she realized it was truly over.

"How?" She asked.

"Harry killed him. Big showdown in the middle of the Great Hall. You'll have to ask someone else for all the details. I was too busy worrying about you to pay attention." He smiled down at her, still stroking her hair softly, his eyes taking in every detail of her face.

His features darkened slightly as he continued. "Your heart stopped twice," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and locking eyes with her once more, "I thought you were going to die. I was terrified. You've been unconscious for 3 days. Don't ever do that again. I don't want you risking your life for me. I'm not worth it, Hermione."

"I'm not apologizing for saving you! I'd do it a hundred times over and I'll risk my life for whoever I want, especially you, so don't you dare lecture me, Fred Weasley, because you'd have done exactly the same thing!" She glared at him furiously. How could he ever think he wasn't worth it?

"It was stupid, Hermione! You could have died! You nearly did! I won't let you die, not for anyone and definitely not for me. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Hermione seethed furiously, "that that wall was about to crush you and I wasn't going to let it!"

"You should've just run! Or saved one of the others if you had to. It was too risky to save me when I was right next to it!"

"I wasn't thinking about the others! I saw you and I had to save you! I couldn't stand the thought of…" Her breath caught and she choked out a sob as the reality of what could've happened hit her. She could have lost him. He could've died. She closed her eyes and willed the tears not to spill from her cheeks.

"I needed you to be okay. I…I couldn't live with myself if anything had happened to you."

"Why me? If anyone I would've thought Ron…" He trailed off as her eyes opened and she looked at him steadily.

"I'm not in love with Ron. Or Harry. Or George. Or Percy. I'm in love with _you_ , I had to save _you_." Hermione watched his expression go from confusion to shock to disbelief as he shook his head and sat back down.

"What?"

"I'm in love with you. I have been for years. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know you see me like a little sister and I don't expect anything. It's fine." She mumbled the last part as embarrassment replaced her anger. She'd never felt this awkward in her life but if she was ever going to move past her love for Fred she needed him to know what she felt. He deserved to know, especially after what had happened.

Fred laughed loudly from his chair. It sounded equal parts happy and pained.

"I don't believe this." He muttered. "Absolutely ridiculous."

"You don't need to be rude about it." Her embarrassment flipped back to anger at his complete rejection.

His head snapped up and his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said.

"No. No, Hermione. I don't mean it like that.." he rushed to rectify his mistake, "I mean all this time I've been agonizing over you and Ron and trying to hide what I feel for you because I never wanted to come between you or make you feel uncomfortable and here you are telling me you're in love with me and I'm just a mess…I'm a complete mess over you and you almost died and I should still be worried but I don't think I've ever felt this happy in my life."

Hermione looked at him, eyes wide and speechless.

Fred took a deep breath and walked back towards her. He sat next to her, gathered her hand in his and smiled.

"I'm in love with you too, Hermione."

"Really?" She squeaked.

"Really." He replied.

"Well that's a relief."

Fred threw his head back with laughter before cupping her cheeks with his free hand. He touched his forehead to hers and sighed in contentment.

"Fred."

"Mhmm."

"Kiss me."

"Ugh, you're so needy."

"Shut up." She punched his arm lightly and pushed him away.

"I bet you've been waiting to do that since you woke up."

"The punch or the kiss? Because honestly, I think I'm content now I've done one of them." She smirked.

"Merlin, I love you." Fred grinned.

Hermione beamed. "I love you too."

Fred leaned towards her again, placing his hand on the back of her neck gently and pulling her towards him. They locked eyes for a second before Hermione closed hers in anticipation.

Fred paused, taking in every detail of her face. She was so beautiful. He couldn't believe this was finally happening.

He closed the distance slowly, savouring the small puffs of air ghosting across his lips. His eyes fell shut as he pressed his lips gently to hers. He'd intended the kiss to be chaste but once again he'd underestimated her. She tugged his face more forcefully towards hers and nipped slightly at his bottom lip causing him to let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl at her forwardness.

The kiss grew more heated as her lips opened under his and he took full advantage of her mouth.

He felt her hand roughly tug at the hairs at the bottom of his neck and gasped quietly. He was about to move his hand from her face to somewhere considerably lower when a loud cough startled them and he threw himself backwards.

"Well, well, well. Someone's obviously feeling better. Do you want me to lock the door on the way out? I could cover for you if you wanted to sneak out to continue this little…err, reunion." George grinned cheekily, narrowly dodging the cushion Fred had just thrown at him.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. I should warn you though," he called over his shoulder as he made to exit the room, "everyone's about to come in and I doubt they'd take too kindly to you ravishing Hermione when she's supposed to be resting." He laughed as Fred swore at him.

"Oh, and I'm glad you're okay, Hermione." George smiled at her from the doorway. "Fred was a mess when you passed out. Thank you for saving him. At Hogwarts and today." George nodded towards them both and disappeared from view.

Hermione glanced back towards Fred and smiled gently at him. He grinned back then positioned himself back at her side just as a squealing Ginny hurtled into the room, crying happily as she practically threw herself towards Hermione.

The rest of her friends made their way towards her bed and Hermione was relieved to see that she'd clearly been the worst hurt.

She listened contently to everyone's version of events, laughing and crying as they told her what had happened. All the while she felt Fred's hand in hers, gently massaging circles into it and squeezing every now and then just to remind her that he was there.

She looked over at him as Harry launched into a graphic description of Ron killing a giant spider.

Hermione mouthed three words at him and as he leaned closer and whispered them back into her ear she knew, finally, that she was safe.

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 **a/n: So that's it! No idea where this came from, I've gotten really into this pairing lately so I thought I'd have a go at writing them :) Let me know what you thought and thanks for reading!**


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